It's Monday evening and there are two things I didn't really
see happening: after over a week of nearly unbearable humidity and high
temps, that I'd be having dinner on my back deck and the other is, frankly,
having dinner on my back deck.
Closing in on 5 hours since Brian and I walked off the 18th
green for the John Deere Classic Monday Qualifier you have time to ponder.
Unlike Brian, who drove 6 hours back to Richmond in the confines of his Dodge,
I had a 30 minute commute back to the house to feebly get through some laundry,
cleaning, and a bit of a nap. It also gives time to reflect on a day that
really leaves a bittersweet feeling in your stomach.
Arnold Palmer is famously quoted as saying, "Golf
is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated." Truer words have
never been spoken. Since 2010, when I was able to coax Brian out to Iowa to
play in this Monday Qualifier, it's always a time of the year that we both look
forward to. Brian gets to have the luxury of staying at my house instead of a
hotel room where you're always reminded that the stay is temporary. Here he
gets all the amenities as if he were staying at home like home cooked meals,
Xbox, free wireless Internet, familiar surroundings and, of course, my
soon-to-be world famous mango jalapeno salsa. The new item on the list of
things to do: Osaka Sushi Buffet in Moline, IL. I haven't gotten him to try
sashimi yet, but at least he now eats copious quantities of rolls. It's a
start.
Brian arrived last Tuesday. Not having status on the PGA
Tour and Web.Com Tour makes you go through the pre-qualifier a few days ahead
of the real deal. You may have seen an earlier Facebook post that Thursday's PQ
round was probably the hottest day that either one of us had spent on a golf
course. It was pure survival to its core. You don't even want to hold a
conversation because it takes so much out of you. On the plus side it's one
more round you get to play in tournament conditions. A tidy 1 under par 70 left
us feeling good about the possibilities of the coming Monday.
We had a good warmup session this morning. Brian was in good
spirits hitting and shaping the shots we anticipated to take to the course. It
was good to see fellow Cleveland Golf players Jack Newman and Randall
Hutchinson. Two Michigan State products that, in their own way, have made good
strides in their careers to this point with Newman playing in the Masters just
a few short years ago. But as Brian and I have talked about countless times,
just because you play at the Masters or because you MQ into a PGA Tour event
doesn't give you entitlement that it will happen each and every time you play.
Patrick Reed this year may be an exception to that rule since he's made 4 PGA
Tour events through Monday Qualifying. He was in today's field but didn't make
it out.
It was a different way of parring the first hole that we
drew up, but after punching out of the trees on the first hole Brian hit a
great 5 iron into the green. A 2-putt par sent us on to the deceptive par 3
second hole. With all the heat that's been in the area most golf courses keep
their greens cut just slightly longer than normal. To the untrained eye it's
hard to tell the difference, but to the golfers' it's noticeable. We hit a
pretty typical 7 iron onto this water fronted green into the middle, but left
with a 3-putt bogey.
Brian put a 2 iron into the bag this year replacing his
hybrid. He's comfortable hitting it and feels he has better control. On this
course we hit it 6 times as needed. On this hole it sets up perfectly and
leaves a nice 9 iron into the green. A 2 putt par moved us on to the the par 4
fourth. A nice "up and down" from just short of the hole but in
the fringe moved us along to the "driveable" par 4 fifth hole. I put
that in quotes because, for the life of me, it's so much more risk than reward
I don't know why people want to hit a driver. After all, when you can go 5 iron
and 54 degree wedge to 3 feet I'll take that route all day long and half the
night.
Brian bombs a drive on the 6th hole leaving us a 'tweener
yardage. When you're golfing you're often given a choice to hit a full shot and
risking spinning it away from the hole, or playing a shot that may give you a
slightly longer putt but gives you more control in the outcome. We took that
second route because of a false front and though it scared the hole on the
putt, we left still at Even par.
The par 5 seventh hole certainly is special to us from
last years effort. Today Brian hit the longest drive I've ever seen him hit on
this hole. There again it was a 'tweener between a 5 and 6 iron. With a front
pin we chose the 6 iron feeling that if we were just short of the green that
would be an easier up and down than trying to hole a long two-tiered putt. It
paid off and with a birdie putting us into red figures we were off to the ultra
long par 3 eighth hole. This is a long golf hole period. Out of the entire
field it had only 3 birdies all day. After hitting a 5 iron to just shy of the
center of the green, Brian hit a bomb of a putt to be one of those birdies on
the day.
Another 2 iron on 9 left us the same yardage and same uphill
lie we had on the third hole. That one we left about 20 feet short. This one we
landed pin high just 18" from the cup. However, it bounded over the green
into the back rough and left the most delicate pitch on the course. We made a
mistake being in this position and paid for it. Walking away with double bogey
erased our under par effort and sent us to the back nine shaking our heads a
bit, but nonetheless positive we could make some noise on the back.
The "endlessly complicated" words of Mr. Palmer's
quote seem appropriate for the day. There were probably 2-3 miss hits all day,
but those cost us 4 shots. Who knows what happens when you make the turn at -2
instead of Even par? Who knows if we don't burn the edge on the 10th to maybe
go -3 and the feeling you have going forward turns your day around? Bottom
line: it didn't, but that's golf. It's so much like life. You can have things
go your way for days, weeks, years on end and out of the blue it goes sideways.
How you react to those "miss-hits" and how you press forward says
more about you than anything in life. What I admire about Brian is he doesn't
know the meaning of the word "quit". That's what I enjoy most about
being on the bag for him. Together we see that each hole has its opportunity
for birdie or better. I'll leave you with this quote Brian posted to Twitter as
I was composing this blog: "It's not about having dreams, it's about
having the courage and determination to chase them and make them
reality."
Congrats to Cleveland Golf players Randall Hutchinson and
John Hurley making their first John Deere Classic appearances this year. Also
to Mathias Gronberg and Chad Proehl from Waukee, IA on qualifying as well. When
Brian and I made it through last year we caught up with Chad and played a few
holes with him. It was nice that he remembered us this year with all the
people that he sees on a regular basis.
We'll be back again next year. There's no doubt. Maybe we
get to go straight to the Monday Qualifier or maybe yet he may find himself
exempt into the John Deere. But until that time I know Brian will be working
his ass off to shorten the razor's edge gap between where he is and where he
wants to be. The boy has passion. It's contagious if you let it.
The sun has set on the day and the ratcheting sound of my
sprinkler is all that's keeping me company. Until we meet again, keep your
dreams alive and never give up on what makes you happy.
-S
